Each panel below is a working miniature of a site that could run at this address: navigation, hero, product screen and proof numbers, followed by a plain note on how that business would position the name. All twenty stay on screen at all times; a lane simply marks its own. The domain sits in the browser bar of every one of them, whole and unbroken, because the name is the thing being sold.
01
Preferred, And The Word Appears Once
Counting the operative adjective in the whole subchapter
ConversionsLive
205b(1)preferredonce
Read the clause
The metric system is the
preferred system of weights
and measures for United
States trade and commerce.
That is the first of four clauses of declared national policy, enacted in 1975. The adjective carrying it is used exactly one time in the entire subchapter.
15 U.S.C. 205b(1), 2024 EDITION OF THE U.S. CODE ON govinfo · ALL OF 205a THROUGH 205l PULLED AND SEARCHED · READ OCTOBER 5, 2026PRIMARY SOURCE
It is therefore the declared policy of the United States - (1) to designate the metric system of measurement as the preferred system of weights and measures for United States trade and commerce;15 U.S.C. 205b(1), QUOTED WHOLE. THE CODE PRINTS AN EM DASH WHERE THIS PAGE SETS A HYPHEN.
THE COUNTA case-insensitive search of the full text of 15 U.S.C. 205a through 205l returns 1 occurrence of "preferred", and it is the clause above. The statute designates; it does not require, and it says so in its own next clause rather than leaving it to inference.1
THE CREDIT LINE, AS PRINTEDPub. L. 94-168, sec. 3, Dec. 23, 1975, 89 Stat. 1007; Pub. L. 100-418, title V, sec. 5164(b), Aug. 23, 1988, 102 Stat. 1452. The section was amended generally in 1988.1975, 1988
AND WHERE THE SAME PHRASE TURNS UP AGAIN"preferred system of weights and measures" appears in 3 current sections of the Code of Federal Regulations. Card 05 names all three.3 SECTIONS
NOTHING ON THIS PAGE IS LEGAL ADVICE, AND NOTHING HERE TELLS ANY AGENCY, BUSINESS OR PERSON WHAT IT MUST DO. THIS PAGE TAKES NO POSITION ON METRICATION IN EITHER DIRECTION, SAYS NOTHING ABOUT ANY STATE, AND CARD 10 SETS OUT IN FULL WHAT DOES NOT FOLLOW FROM ANY COUNT HERE.WHAT THIS IS
1use of the word preferred
4clauses of declared policy
1975the year of enactment
How they position itEveryone in this category quotes the Act from memory and gets the verb wrong. A page that prints the clause, counts the adjective and shows the credit line is the one that gets cited.
02
Four Clauses, And The Fourth Gives Ground
The declaration of policy, read end to end
ConversionsLive
designaterequireseekpermit
Read all four
Designate. Require. Seek
out ways. And permit the
continued use of
traditional systems.
Read as four verbs, the policy moves from a designation to a requirement on agencies to an education clause and then, in its last line, concedes a whole domain of life.
15 U.S.C. 205b, DECLARATION OF POLICY, QUOTED WHOLE · READ OCTOBER 5, 2026PRIMARY SOURCE
(1) to designate the metric system of measurement as the preferred system of weights and measures for United States trade and commerce;CLAUSE ONE, QUOTED WHOLE.
(2) to require that each Federal agency, by a date certain and to the extent economically feasible by the end of the fiscal year 1992, use the metric system of measurement in its procurements, grants, and other business-related activities, except to the extent that such use is impractical or is likely to cause significant inefficiencies or loss of markets to United States firms, such as when foreign competitors are producing competing products in non-metric units;CLAUSE TWO, QUOTED WHOLE. THE LONGEST OF THE FOUR, AND THE ONLY ONE WITH A DATE IN IT.
(3) to seek out ways to increase understanding of the metric system of measurement through educational information and guidance and in Government publications; andCLAUSE THREE, QUOTED WHOLE.
(4) to permit the continued use of traditional systems of weights and measures in non-business activities.CLAUSE FOUR, QUOTED WHOLE. THE SHORTEST OF THE FOUR.
WHO EACH CLAUSE IS ABOUTClause two names Federal agencies. Clauses one, three and four name nobody. No clause in the declaration places a requirement on a private person or a business, and this page does not say what any other provision does, because it read this one.AGENCIES
AND THE WORD IN CLAUSE FOURNon-business activities. The statute draws its own line and leaves one side of it alone, in its final clause, in nine words.NON-BUSINESS
4verbs in the declaration
1clause that concedes
0requirements on the public
How they position itFour clauses side by side, each quoted whole, is a reference nobody else publishes. Most summaries quote clause one and stop.
03
What The Statute Means By Metric
The definition, and the year it points at
ConversionsLive
205c(4)SI1960
Read the definition
The International System
of Units as established by
the General Conference of
Weights and Measures.
The Act does not define its own subject. It points at a body that met in 1960, and then adds a clause letting one official reinterpret the result for this country.
15 U.S.C. 205c(4), QUOTED WHOLE · 2024 EDITION OF THE U.S. CODE ON govinfo, READ OCTOBER 5, 2026PRIMARY SOURCE
"metric system of measurement" means the International System of Units as established by the General Conference of Weights and Measures in 1960 and as interpreted or modified for the United States by the Secretary of Commerce.15 U.S.C. 205c(4), QUOTED WHOLE.
THE FIRST HALFAn external body and a year. The statute does not reproduce the system it adopts, and it does not list a single unit.1960
THE SECOND HALF"as interpreted or modified for the United States". The definition is not closed at the 1960 text; one official may move it. This page does not say whether that has ever happened, because it did not look.OR MODIFIED
AND THE SAME DEFINITION, RESTATED IN A REGULATION15 C.F.R. 273.2 gives it again and adds two statutes as the authority for the modification: the Metric Conversion Act of 1975 and the Metric Education Act of 1978. The regulation names a second Act the statutory definition does not.TWO ACTS
1960the year the definition points at
2things the definition points at
1official named in it
How they position itA definition that points somewhere else, twice, is the detail a careful reader checks first. Publishing both halves with the regulation's restatement beside them is the whole credential.
04
Seven Sections Of Policy Direction
The regulation the Act produced, measured
ConversionsLive
15 CFR 2737 sections
See the part
To provide policy direction
for Federal agencies in
their transition to use of
the metric system.
That sentence is the entire Purpose section of the regulation. Seventeen words, and then one hundred and ninety-three section numbers reserved behind it.
15 C.F.R. PART 273, METRIC CONVERSION POLICY FOR FEDERAL AGENCIES, PULLED WHOLE · eCFR AT ITS SEPTEMBER 30, 2026 EDITION, READ OCTOBER 5, 2026PRIMARY SOURCE
To provide policy direction for Federal agencies in their transition to use of the metric system of measurement.15 C.F.R. 273.1, PURPOSE, QUOTED WHOLE. 17 WORDS, COUNTED. THIS IS THE ENTIRE SECTION.
THE SHAPE OF THE PART273.1 Purpose, 273.2 Definition, 273.3, 273.4, 273.5, 273.6 Reporting requirement, and then 273.7 through 273.199 [Reserved]. Six operative sections and a reserved range almost two hundred numbers long.6 SECTIONS
THE AUTHORITY NOTE, AS PRINTED15 U.S.C. 1512 and 3710, 15 U.S.C. 205a, DOO 30-2A. The last item is an internal departmental order, cited by number in the Code alongside three statutes.DOO 30-2A
AND THE SOURCE NOTE56 FR 160, Jan. 2, 1991, unless otherwise noted. Redesignated at 56 FR 41283, Aug. 20, 1991, and further redesignated at 78 FR 4766, Jan. 23, 2013. The part has moved twice and is reported here exactly as printed.MOVED TWICE
17words in the Purpose section
273the part number
1991the year of the source note
How they position itA seventeen-word Purpose and a reserved range of one hundred and ninety-three numbers is the kind of structural fact a reference site is built on.
05
The Phrase In Three Places
Where the statute's own words turn up in the regulations
ConversionsLive
273.411.0022811.002
See all three
The exact phrase from the
statute appears in three
current sections of the
Code of Federal Regulations.
Searched as an exact phrase across all fifty titles and deduplicated to sections, the operative words of the declaration turn up three times, in two different titles.
eCFR SEARCH API, EXACT PHRASE, ALL FIFTY TITLES, RESULTS DEDUPLICATED ON TITLE, PART AND SECTION · RUN OCTOBER 5, 2026MEASURED HERE
15 C.F.R. 273.4The metric conversion policy regulation. "...consistent with the legal status of the metric system as the preferred system of weights and measures for United States trade and commerce."TITLE 15
48 C.F.R. 11.002A section of the government-wide acquisition regulations. Named here as a citation and not discussed; this page did not read what that part requires of anyone.TITLE 48
48 C.F.R. 2811.002A second acquisition-regulation section carrying the same phrase. Also named and not discussed.TITLE 48
WHY ONLY THREE ARE LISTEDAll 50 titles were searched. The search returns a total_count of 12, which counts matching subdivisions and versions rather than sections. Deduplicated on title, part and section, and limited to versions that are current, it is 3. Every section figure on this page is produced that way.NOT 12
AND THE PHRASE THAT RETURNS NOTHING"legal status of the metric system" is the regulation's own framing and is not in the statute. The statute says designate; the regulation says legal status. This page quotes both and does not reconcile them, because reconciling them would be a legal conclusion.NOT RECONCILED
3current sections carrying it
2titles they sit in
50titles searched
How they position itThree citations, counted correctly, with the field that would have given twelve shown beside them. That is what a reference page is for.
06
A Date Certain, And The Year Was 1992
The only clause in the declaration with a date in it
ConversionsLive
205b(2)date certain1992
Read the clause
By a date certain and to
the extent economically
feasible by the end of the
fiscal year 1992.
The requirement clause carries a date and then, in the same breath, two qualifications and an exception. Read whole, it is a date with its own conditions written into it.
15 U.S.C. 205b(2), QUOTED WHOLE · 2024 EDITION OF THE U.S. CODE ON govinfo, READ OCTOBER 5, 2026PRIMARY SOURCE
to require that each Federal agency, by a date certain and to the extent economically feasible by the end of the fiscal year 1992, use the metric system of measurement in its procurements, grants, and other business-related activities, except to the extent that such use is impractical or is likely to cause significant inefficiencies or loss of markets to United States firms, such as when foreign competitors are producing competing products in non-metric units;15 U.S.C. 205b(2), QUOTED WHOLE.
THE TWO QUALIFICATIONS"by a date certain" and "to the extent economically feasible", both before the year. 2 conditions attached to a date in the same clause that sets it.2
THE EXCEPTIONOne, introduced by "except to the extent", turning on impracticality, significant inefficiencies, or loss of markets. The clause then supplies its own worked example.1
WHAT THIS CARD DOES NOT SAYIt does not say whether any agency met the date, missed it, or was excused by the exception. No agency's conduct was examined and none is characterized. The card reports the words of a clause.NOT EXAMINED
1992the year named in the clause
2qualifications before the date
1exception after it
How they position itA date certain with its own conditions built in is a thing people argue about from memory. The page that prints it whole settles the argument and keeps the traffic.
07
The Report Is Still Due Every Year
The one obligation in the regulation that recurs
ConversionsLive
273.6annualto Congress
Read the duty
Each Federal agency shall,
as part of its annual budget
submission each fiscal year,
report to the Congress.
The regulation that came out of the Act is six sections long, and one of them is a standing reporting duty with no end date written into it.
15 C.F.R. 273.6, REPORTING REQUIREMENT, QUOTED · eCFR AT ITS SEPTEMBER 30, 2026 EDITION, READ OCTOBER 5, 2026PRIMARY SOURCE
Each Federal agency shall, as part of its annual budget submission each fiscal year, report to the Congress on the metric implementation actions it has taken during the previous fiscal year.15 C.F.R. 273.6, QUOTED. THE WORD IS SHALL, NOT MAY.
THE SHAPE OF THE DUTYEvery agency. Every fiscal year. Attached to a document the agency already files. No sunset is written into the section, and the section is in the current Code at the edition read.EVERY YEAR
WHY THIS CARD IS IN THIS LANEBecause a page about a 1992 date has to say what is still running. The date in card 06 came and went; this sentence did not.STILL RUNNING
AND WHAT IS NOT CLAIMEDNothing here says whether any report has ever been filed, or what any of them said. No report was read and none is characterized.NOT READ
1recurring duty in the part
273the part it is in
6the section number
How they position itThe live obligation is the thing a reference reader actually needs, and it is the thing every summary of this subject leaves out.
08
Nineteen Seventy-Five, Then Amended Generally
The two dates in the credit line, and what the second one did
ConversionsLive
94-168100-4181988
Read the line
Enacted in 1975. Amended
generally in 1988. The
date certain arrived in the
amendment, not the Act.
The credit line under the declaration of policy carries two public laws thirteen years apart, and the Code's own editorial note says what the second one did to the section.
15 U.S.C. 205b, CREDIT LINE AND EDITORIAL NOTE, QUOTED AS PRINTED · READ OCTOBER 5, 2026PRIMARY SOURCE
Pub. L. 94-168, sec. 3, Dec. 23, 1975, 89 Stat. 1007; Pub. L. 100-418, title V, sec. 5164(b), Aug. 23, 1988, 102 Stat. 1452.THE CREDIT LINE UNDER 15 U.S.C. 205b, QUOTED AS PRINTED. SECTION SIGNS WRITTEN OUT PER THE TRANSCRIPTION NOTE.
Amendments. 1988 - Pub. L. 100-418 amended section generally.THE CODE'S OWN EDITORIAL NOTE, QUOTED. THE PHRASE "amended section generally" IS THE CODE'S.
WHAT THAT MEANS FOR READING ITThe four clauses on card 02 are the 1988 text, not the 1975 text. A reader quoting "the Metric Conversion Act of 1975" is quoting a section rewritten 13 years later.THE 1988 TEXT
AND WHAT THIS PAGE DID NOT DOIt did not read the 1975 text, and it does not say what changed. The prior version was not pulled, so no comparison is offered and none should be inferred from this card.NOT COMPARED
2public laws in the credit line
13years between them
1988the year of the general amendment
How they position itHalf the writing on this subject quotes a 1975 statute while reading 1988 text. Saying so, with the editorial note, is a small thing that makes a page trustworthy.
09
Non-Business Activities Are Left Alone
The final clause, and the line it draws
ConversionsLive
205b(4)permittraditional
Read the clause
To permit the continued
use of traditional systems
of weights and measures
in non-business activities.
The declaration ends by conceding a domain. It is the shortest of the four clauses and the only one that gives something back rather than asking for it.
15 U.S.C. 205b(4), QUOTED WHOLE, AND A SEARCH OF THE SUBCHAPTER'S DEFINITIONS · READ OCTOBER 5, 2026PRIMARY SOURCE
to permit the continued use of traditional systems of weights and measures in non-business activities.15 U.S.C. 205b(4), QUOTED WHOLE. NINE WORDS FOLLOW THE VERB.
TWO TERMS, NEITHER DEFINED IN THE SECTION"traditional systems of weights and measures" and "non-business activities", which together are the 9 words following the verb. The definitions section of the subchapter, 15 U.S.C. 205c, defines neither. 0 definitions, searched in the section that exists to define things.0
THE CONTRAST WITH CLAUSE TWOClause two names the actor, Federal agencies, and the activities, procurements and grants. Clause four names no actor at all and describes what it permits by what it is not.BY NEGATION
WHAT THIS CARD DOES NOT SAYIt does not say what counts as a non-business activity, and it does not say that anything in particular is permitted or not permitted. Reading an undefined term is not the same as classifying anything under it, and nothing is classified here.NOT CLASSIFIED
9words after the verb
4the clause number
0definitions of non-business
How they position itAn undefined term in an operative clause is exactly the thing a reader comes looking for. Showing that the definitions section does not define it is better than an answer.
10
What We Will Not Conclude From That
The inference this page refuses, and the text that makes it false
ConversionsLive
205b273.63 sections
Read the refusal
A date that passed and a
section that was repealed
are facts about a text.
They are not a verdict.
Nine cards about a 1992 date, a repeal and an absent constant lead straight to one wrong conclusion, so it is refused here, in the middle, with the current law quoted underneath.
THE REFUSAL, WITH THE CURRENT TEXT THAT REQUIRES IT · 15 U.S.C. 205b, 15 C.F.R. 273.4 AND 273.6 · READ OCTOBER 5, 2026REFUSED
WE DO NOT SAY THE POLICY IS DEAD, ABANDONED OR UNENFORCEDNor that the metric system is optional, voluntary or not law. Those are verdicts, and this page reports text. Three things below are in the current law at the edition read.REFUSED
It is therefore the declared policy of the United States - (1) to designate the metric system of measurement as the preferred system of weights and measures for United States trade and commerce;15 U.S.C. 205b(1). CURRENT LAW. NOT REPEALED, NOT SUPERSEDED ON ANYTHING THIS PAGE READ.
Each Federal agency shall, as part of its annual budget submission each fiscal year, report to the Congress on the metric implementation actions it has taken during the previous fiscal year.15 C.F.R. 273.6. A DUTY WITH NO END DATE IN IT, IN THE CURRENT CODE.
... consistent with the legal status of the metric system as the preferred system of weights and measures for United States trade and commerce15 C.F.R. 273.4, QUOTED WITH OUR ELLIPSIS. THE PHRASE IS IN 3 CURRENT SECTIONS OF THE CODE OF FEDERAL REGULATIONS.
AND THE ONE THAT IS MOST OFTEN GOT WRONGThe Act was not repealed. One section of it was: 15 U.S.C. 205j-1, in 1995, and card 11 says exactly which one and what it had required. Everything else in the subchapter is printed in the 2024 edition without a repeal note.ONE SECTION
THE FULL LIST OF WHAT IS REFUSED HEREThat the policy is dead or unenforced. That the United States never adopted the metric system. That anything is optional or not required. That a passed date means a failed policy. That an absent number means an absent rule. Every one of those is a conclusion this page does not reach, and card 20 lists the rest.CARD 20
AND HOW FAR THIS PAGE ACTUALLY LOOKEDTwelve sections of one subchapter of the U.S. Code, one seven-section regulation, and one section of title 49, all pulled whole and read. That is not the United States Code and it is not the Code of Federal Regulations, and this page does not pretend otherwise.NOT EXHAUSTIVE
3things that are still in force
1section repealed, not the Act
0verdicts on the policy
How they position itThe refusal is the credential. Putting it in the middle, with the current law quoted under it, is what separates a reference from an opinion piece.
11
One Section Was Repealed, And It Was The Guidelines
Which section went, when, and what it had required
ConversionsLive
205j-11995guidelines
Read the note
Related to agency
guidelines to carry out
metric conversion policy.
Repealed in 1995.
The subchapter prints one section as repealed, and the Code's own note says what it had been. It is the section that was to turn the policy into guidance.
15 U.S.C. 205j-1, 2024 EDITION OF THE U.S. CODE ON govinfo, QUOTED AS PRINTED · READ OCTOBER 5, 2026PRIMARY SOURCE
205j-1. Repealed. Pub. L. 104-66, title III, sec. 3001(e), Dec. 21, 1995, 109 Stat. 734THE SECTION HEADING, QUOTED AS PRINTED. SECTION SIGNS WRITTEN OUT PER THE TRANSCRIPTION NOTE.
Section, Pub. L. 94-168, sec. 12, as added Pub. L. 100-418, title V, sec. 5164(c), Aug. 23, 1988, 102 Stat. 1452, related to agency guidelines to carry out metric conversion policy.THE CODE'S OWN NOTE UNDER THE REPEALED HEADING, QUOTED WHOLE.
THE ARC IN TWO LINESAdded in 1988 by the same public law that amended the declaration of policy generally. Repealed in 1995, seven years later. Both facts are in the Code's own notes and neither is inferred.1988 TO 1995
AND THE THING THIS CARD EXISTS TO PREVENTThe Act was not repealed. This section was. A reader who takes "repealed" from a search result and attaches it to the statute has the wrong fact, and that is the single most common error about this subject.ONE SECTION
WHAT IS NOT SAIDThis page did not read Pub. L. 104-66, and says nothing about why the repeal happened or what else that law did. The note is quoted and the inquiry stops there.NOT READ
1995the year of the repeal
1section repealed in the subchapter
1988the year it was added
How they position itThis is the correction the whole category needs, and it fits on one card with two quotations. A page that makes it is the page that gets linked.
12
The Exact Pound Is In No Current Section
Searching the Code for the constant everybody assumes is in it
ConversionsLive
0.45359237zerocurrent
See the search
Zero current sections of
the Code of Federal
Regulations carry the exact
international pound.
The figure that converts a pound to a kilogram without rounding is a famous constant. Searched across all fifty titles, it is not in the Code that is in force.
eCFR SEARCH API, EXACT STRING, ALL FIFTY TITLES, DEDUPLICATED AND SPLIT BY VERSION · RUN OCTOBER 5, 2026MEASURED HERE
"0.45359237"With the leading zero, as most sources print it.0
".45359237"Without the leading zero, as the Code prints it. One distinct section, and zero of its versions are current.1, NONE CURRENT
"453.59237"The grams form. Nothing, either way.0
current sections with the exact figureBy any of the three spellings, after deduplication, limited to versions in force.0
WHAT THIS DOES AND DOES NOT MEANAll 50 titles were searched. It means the string is not in the current Code of Federal Regulations. It does not mean the pound is undefined, that no federal source states it, or that anything is unregulated. This page searched one corpus and reports what that corpus holds. The United States Code, the Federal Register and agency publications were not searched for it.ONE CORPUS
AND WHY THE FIRST ROW IS ON THE CARDBecause the first row alone is a false zero, and the card that reports only the first row is wrong. Card 15 is about that.CARD 15
0current sections carrying it
1section that ever carried it
50titles searched
How they position itA famous constant, searched three ways, with the result that contradicts the obvious one printed first. That is a page people check against.
13
The One Place That Ever Had It
Finding the single section, and the part it belonged to
ConversionsLive
7 CFR 1208raspberrygone
Read the sentence
The factor used to convert
one pound to kilograms is
point four five three five
nine two three seven.
The exact figure did appear in the Code once, in a commodity promotion order. The order set it out in a sentence, and the part it sat in is no longer there.
7 C.F.R. 1208.52(d)(4) AT THE JANUARY 1, 2018 EDITION, QUOTED · PART 1208 RETURNS NO CONTENT AT THE SEPTEMBER 30, 2026 EDITION · READ OCTOBER 5, 2026PRIMARY SOURCE
The factor used to convert one pound to kilograms is .45359237. The factor used to convert one pound to liters is .45359237 liters ...7 C.F.R. 1208.52(d)(4), QUOTED WITH OUR ELLIPSIS, FROM THE EDITION IN FORCE ON JANUARY 1, 2018. THE CODE PRINTS THE FIGURE WITHOUT A LEADING ZERO, WHICH IS THE WHOLE REASON THE FIRST SEARCH ON CARD 12 RETURNS NOTHING.
WHERE IT LIVEDPart 1208, a processed raspberry promotion, research and information order. A conversion constant in a commodity promotion rule, which is not where anybody would look for it.PART 1208
AND WHERE IT IS NOWThe two versions in the index end on 2019-02-19 and 2019-09-24. Requesting the part at the September 30, 2026 edition returns no content. The part is not in the current Code, and this page says that and nothing more about why.NO CONTENT
WHAT IS NOT CLAIMEDNothing here says the order was wrong, that the figure was removed on purpose, or that anything follows from its absence. Part 1208 was read only far enough to quote the sentence.LOCATED ONLY
1208the part it was in
2versions in the index
0of them current
How they position itThe oddity is the hook and the sourcing is the proof. A conversion constant living in a raspberry order is the sentence people repeat, and the citation is right there.
14
A Part That Does Not Exist
Checking a citation that is widely repeated
ConversionsLive
15 CFR 1200404273
See the check
Requesting 15 CFR part
1200 returns no matching
content. The title runs
past it to part 1400.
The Commerce metric regulations are frequently cited to a part number that is not in title 15. Checked directly against the structure of the title, the number is not there.
eCFR VERSIONER API, TITLE 15 STRUCTURE AT ITS SEPTEMBER 30, 2026 EDITION · CHECKED OCTOBER 5, 2026MEASURED HERE
WHAT THE REQUEST RETURNSAsking the versioner for 15 C.F.R. part 1200 returns an error of no matching content. The title's structure runs part 1110, part 1180, parts 1181 through 1199 reserved, and then part 1400.NOT THERE
WHERE THE REGULATIONS ACTUALLY ARE15 C.F.R. part 273, Metric Conversion Policy for Federal Agencies. Six operative sections, quoted on cards 03, 04 and 07.PART 273
AND THE NEAR MISS WORTH KNOWING7 C.F.R. part 1200 does exist, and it is unrelated: rules of practice for research and promotion programs. A citation with the right part number and the wrong title lands on a real page about something else.WRONG TITLE
This card reports what a request to the electronic Code returned on the date shown. It does not say that any particular source is wrong, it names no source, and it does not say the part never existed; it says the part is not in the title at the edition read.
1200the part that is not there
273the part that is
1400the next part in the title
How they position itChecking a citation everyone repeats, and publishing the check rather than the citation, is the single clearest signal that a page did its own reading.
15
How A Zero Can Lie
The search mistake this page nearly published
ConversionsLive
leading zero0 vs 1
Read the method
The same number, written
two ways, returns zero and
one. The index normalizes
nothing about a decimal.
A search that comes back empty feels like an answer. On this page one of them was not, and the method that caught it is published here so every other count can be checked the same way.
THE METHOD BEHIND EVERY COUNT ON THIS PAGE · eCFR SEARCH API, RUN OCTOBER 5, 2026METHOD
"0.45359237"Written the way nearly every source outside the Code writes it.0
".45359237"Written the way the Code writes it. The index does not normalize a leading zero, so the two are different strings and only one of them finds the text.1
THE THREE RULES THIS PAGE FOLLOWSOne. Every numeric string is searched with and without a leading zero. Two. Every phrase is enclosed in double quotation marks, because an unquoted search is not reproducible. Three. No total_count is ever reported as a section count.3 RULES
WHAT total_count ACTUALLY COUNTSMatching subdivisions and versions. On this page it returned 12 where the deduplicated current-section count was 3, and 2 where the distinct-section count was 1. The field is never wrong; it answers a different question than the one a reader is asking.NOT SECTIONS
AND WHY THIS CARD IS NOT AT THE ENDBecause a method card at the end is a disclaimer, and a method card in the middle is an instrument. Every count on this page can be re-run from what is printed on it.RE-RUNNABLE
2spellings of one number
1of them that returns a hit
0the other one returns
How they position itPublishing the method, including the search that would have been wrong, is the reason a professional reader trusts the other nineteen cards.
16
One Provision Says Exact Conversion
Searching the whole Code for the phrase
ConversionsLive
exact conversion1 section
See the count
The phrase exact conversion
appears in one section of
the entire Code of Federal
Regulations.
Searched as an exact phrase across all fifty titles and deduplicated, the words a reader of this subject most wants to find come back from a single place.
eCFR SEARCH API, EXACT PHRASES, ALL FIFTY TITLES, DEDUPLICATED ON TITLE, PART AND SECTION · RUN OCTOBER 5, 2026MEASURED HERE
"exact conversion"One distinct section, current: 49 C.F.R. 171.10.1
"exactly 2.54 centimeters"The inch, stated as an exact equivalence.0
"exactly one kilogram", "exactly one meter"Each searched separately.0
"defined as exactly", "equals exactly"Each searched separately.0
WHAT IS AND IS NOT ESTABLISHEDThat the string appears in one current section, after all 50 titles were searched. Not that no federal source defines a unit exactly, and not that the inch, foot, pound or kilogram is undefined. A zero from a search of one corpus is a fact about that corpus, and card 15 shows how a zero can be wrong even about that.ONE CORPUS
AND THE SECTION IS NOT WHERE ANYONE WOULD LOOKIt is not in the measurement regulations, not in title 15, and not anywhere this page would have searched first. It was found by searching for the words rather than by guessing the place.FOUND BY PHRASE
1section in the whole Code
50titles searched
0other spellings that hit
How they position itA single-section count on the exact phrase a reader is searching for is the most direct answer this domain could give, and nobody else publishes it.
17
And The Table It Points At Is Rounded
Reading the sentence and then the table under it
ConversionsLive
171.10(c)(2)0.4535924
Compare them
One pound equals nought
point four five three five
nine two four kilograms.
Seven places, not eight.
The provision says to use the table when an exact conversion is needed. The pound row of that table carries seven decimal places where the exact figure has eight.
49 C.F.R. 171.10(c), QUOTED · eCFR AT ITS SEPTEMBER 30, 2026 EDITION, READ OCTOBER 5, 2026 · CITED HERE FOR ITS CONVERSION TABLE ONLYPRIMARY SOURCE
(1) Conversion values are provided in the following table and are based on values provided in ASTM E 380, "Standard for Metric Practice". (2) If an exact conversion is needed, the following conversion table should be used.49 C.F.R. 171.10(c)(1) AND (2), QUOTED WHOLE. CURLY QUOTATION MARKS STRAIGHTENED PER THE TRANSCRIPTION NOTE.
Mass (weight) 1 kg = 2.204622 lb · 1 g = 0.03527397 oz · 1 lb = 0.4535924 kg · 1 oz = 28.34952 gFROM THE TABLE OF CONVERSION FACTORS FOR SI UNITS IN THE SAME PARAGRAPH, QUOTED AS PRINTED. THE SEPARATORS ARE OURS; THE FIGURES ARE THE CODE'S.
THE COMPARISON, STATED PLAINLYThe table gives 0.4535924. The international pound is 0.45359237. The table carries 7 decimal places and the figure has 8, so the last digit is not there. Both numbers are printed here so a reader can see the difference rather than take it on trust.ONE DIGIT
WHAT THIS CARD DOES NOT SAYIt does not say the table is wrong, inadequate, or unfit for anything. A rounded value is not an error, and this page takes no position on what precision any purpose requires. It reports what the provision says and what the table prints.NO POSITION
AND THE SOURCE OF THE FIGURE ON THE RIGHTThe exact international pound is not quoted here from the Code, because card 12 shows it is in no current section of it. It is stated as the constant the table's value rounds to, and the only place the Code ever printed it is quoted on card 13.SEE CARD 13
7decimal places in the table
8in the exact figure
1digit the table does not carry
How they position itTwo numbers side by side, one from the Code and one not, with the page saying exactly where each came from. This is the card the whole domain is worth buying for.
18
The Factors, Exactly As Printed
The whole table, transcribed without tidying
ConversionsLive
lengthmassvolume
Read the table
One inch equals two point
five four zero zero zero
zero centimeters. The
trailing zeros are the Code's.
The table carries its values to a fixed width, trailing zeros and all. Transcribed without tidying, the padding is part of what the provision says.
49 C.F.R. 171.10(c), TABLE OF CONVERSION FACTORS FOR SI UNITS, TRANSCRIBED AS PRINTED · READ OCTOBER 5, 2026PRIMARY SOURCE
LENGTH1 cm = 0.3937008 in · 1 m = 3.280840 ft · 1 in = 2.540000 cm · 1 ft = 0.3048000 m2.540000
THICKNESS1 mm = 0.03937008 in · 1 in = 25.40000 mm. A separate row for the same conversion at a different scale, with a different number of printed zeros.25.40000
MASS (WEIGHT)1 kg = 2.204622 lb · 1 g = 0.03527397 oz · 1 lb = 0.4535924 kg · 1 oz = 28.34952 g0.4535924
VOLUME (LIQUID)1 L = 0.2641720 gal · 1 mL = 0.03381402 oz · 1 gal = 3.785412 L · 1 oz = 29.57353 mL3.785412
PRESSURE1 kPa = 0.1450377 psi · 1 Bar = 100 kPa = 14.504 psi · 1 kPa = 7.5 mm Hg · 1 psi = 6.894757 kPa · 1 psi = 0.06895 Bar6.894757
AND TWO GROUPS THAT ARE NOT UNITS OF LENGTH OR MASS AT ALLActivity and radiation level each get a row of their own. They are transcribed here because the table has them and this page does not edit a table it is quoting. Nothing on this page describes what any of them is for.AS PRINTED
Transcribed exactly, including trailing zeros and the Code's own abbreviations. The separators between entries are ours. No value was rounded, padded or corrected in transcription, and the superscript in the cubic-measure entries is set as a plain numeral because this page is pure ASCII, which is disclosed in footnote 1.
6measurement groups in the table
2.54the inch figure, before padding
0values altered in transcription
How they position itA clean transcription of a federal conversion table, with the padding left in, is a genuinely useful object. It is also the thing a tool publisher would otherwise have to type out themselves.
19
Based On A Standard It Does Not Reproduce
Where the provision says its numbers come from
ConversionsLive
ASTM E 380based on
Read the basis
Based on values provided
in ASTM E 380, Standard
for Metric Practice. The
Code prints the values.
The provision names its source in the same sentence that introduces the table. The table is in the Code; the document behind it is not, and this page did not read it.
49 C.F.R. 171.10(c)(1), QUOTED WHOLE · READ OCTOBER 5, 2026PRIMARY SOURCE
Conversion values are provided in the following table and are based on values provided in ASTM E 380, "Standard for Metric Practice".49 C.F.R. 171.10(c)(1), QUOTED WHOLE. CURLY QUOTATION MARKS STRAIGHTENED.
WHAT THE SENTENCE DOESIt supplies a provenance for the numbers and it supplies the numbers. The Code prints the table, so a reader never has to obtain the standard to read the factors. The phrase is "based on", not "incorporated by reference", and this page does not treat the two as the same thing.BASED ON
WHAT THIS PAGE DID NOT DOIt did not obtain or read ASTM E 380. Nothing here describes what that document says, whether the table matches it, or whether it has been revised. The name is reported because the Code prints it.NOT READ
AND THE SHAPE OF THE WHOLE THINGA provision that says use this table for an exact conversion, a table rounded to seven places, and a basis the Code names without reproducing. All three are on this page as text, and none of them is characterized as a defect.ALL THREE
1document named as the basis
0of it reproduced in the Code
0of it read for this page
How they position itSeparating 'based on' from 'incorporated by reference' in one line is the kind of precision that makes a compliance reader bookmark an address.
20
What This Page Will Not Say
The full refusal list, published so it can be checked
ConversionsLive
the whole listcheckable
Read the list
Everything this page
declines to conclude,
in one place, so it can
be checked against the rest.
A page built on counting and on absences is a page that can mislead by omission. The list below is published in full so a reader can hold every other card against it.
THE REFUSALS, IN FULL · HOLD EVERY OTHER CARD AGAINST THIS ONEREFUSED
THAT THE POLICY IS DEAD, ABANDONED OR UNENFORCEDOr that the metric system is optional, voluntary, not required or not law. Card 10 quotes three provisions in the current law that make those conclusions unavailable from anything on this page.REFUSED
THAT THE ACT WAS REPEALEDOne section of it was, 15 U.S.C. 205j-1, in 1995. The subchapter is otherwise printed in the 2024 edition without a repeal note. Card 11 says which section and quotes the note.REFUSED
THAT AN ABSENT NUMBER MEANS AN ABSENT RULEThe exact international pound is in no current section of the Code of Federal Regulations. Nothing about anyone's obligations, and nothing about how any unit is defined, follows from that.REFUSED
THAT A ZERO FROM A SEARCH IS AN ANSWEROne zero on this page was wrong until it was checked a second way. Card 15 publishes the mistake and the three rules that came out of it.REFUSED
THAT THE ROUNDED TABLE IS WRONG OR INADEQUATEA rounded value is not an error. This page takes no position on what precision any purpose requires, and it does not say that any conversion anybody performs is right or wrong.REFUSED
ANY POSITION ON METRICATIONIn either direction. Not that the United States should or should not use the metric system, not that the 1975 policy succeeded or failed, and no account of why any provision says what it says or omits what it omits.REFUSED
ANY ADVICE TO ANYBODYNot to an agency, a manufacturer, a publisher, a tool vendor or a buyer. Nothing here tells anyone what they must do or whether anything applies to them.REFUSED
ANYTHING ABOUT WHAT ANY STATE REQUIRESIn either direction. No State instrument was read, so none is characterized.REFUSED
ANY CHARACTERIZATION OF WHAT WAS NOT READASTM E 380, Pub. L. 104-66, the 1975 text of the declaration, 48 C.F.R. 11.002 and 2811.002, 7 C.F.R. part 1208 beyond one sentence, and everything in 49 C.F.R. part 171 except the conversion paragraph. Each is named as cited and nothing is said about what any of them requires.REFUSED
ANY RAW total_count REPORTED AS A SECTION COUNTThat field counts subdivisions and versions. Every section figure here is deduplicated on title, part and section, and current sections are separated from past versions.REFUSED
ANY BUSINESS NAMEDNone, anywhere. No agency is named except where a quoted citation names one.REFUSED
AND THAT THIS IS COMPLETEHold all 20 cards against this list. 1 subchapter of the U.S. Code and one seven-section regulation were read in full, plus one section of title 49 and one historical section of title 7. That is not the United States Code and it is not the Code of Federal Regulations, and this page does not pretend it is.NOT COMPLETE
20cards it can be checked against
1subchapter read in full
0verdicts on the policy
How they position itThe refusal list is the asset. It is the first thing a serious buyer reads and the reason the other nineteen cards are worth believing.